Yarn feed mechanism for knitting machines



July 8, 1952 M. zlMlc ETAL 2,602,312

YARNFEED MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed May s, 1956 2 SHEETS- SHEET 1 DBY ATTORNEY July 8, 1952 M. zlMlc ETAL 2,602,312

YARN FEED MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed May 8, 1950 l 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 ATTORNEY Patented July 8, 1952 YARN FEED MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES Michael Zimio, Lake Success, and Anton Miskovsky, Deer Park, N. Y.; vsaid Miskovsky assgnor to said Zimio Application May 8, 1950,7Serial No. 160,726

4 Claims. (C1. ca -12s) -The present invention relates to means for feeding yarn in knitting machines, and, more particularly, to novel means for controlling the vertical position of a yarn guide or feeder and moving the yarn feeder and its carrying means over a predetermined range of movement to facilitate special knitting operations or special knitting sequences.

In accordance with the invention, a yarn carrier is provided with a vertically movable yarn guide comprising or being joined to a suitable mounting arm having yarn feeding means for bringing a strand of yarn from a supply source to the yarn guide. The carrier is movable along a stationary trackway, or the like, usually provided in a knitting machine of the type generally known as a links and links machine. Vertical movement of the guide with respect to the carrier, aswell as movement of the carrier on the-trackway, or( its equivalent, is provided by the yarn selector mechanism of the knitting machine. Also, in accordance with the invention, the yarn selecting mechanism on the traveling carriage of a links and links knitting machine cooperates substantially without modif-lcation with the yarn feeding mechanism of this invention to move the guide vertically with respect to the carrier, and to move the carrier to provide for feeding yarn to the knitting devices, such as latch type needles in the knitting bed or beds of the machine.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a novel yarn guide which is movable vertically with respect to its normal direction of travel. v l

Another feature or object of the invention, which is closely related to the object just stated, is to provide novel means for causing movement of the vertically movable yarn guide with respect to its carrier.

A further object of the present invention is to provide novel means for controlling the `yarn guide inaknittingmachine.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will, of course, become apparent and immediately suggest themselves to those skilled inthe art to which the invention is directed from a reading of the following specication in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: l

Fig. 1 is a view in elevation of a portion of the trackway bar for the yarn carrying mechanism of a knitting machine having an illustrative embodiment of the yarn carrying mechanism of 'this invention thereon;

Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3V is a View in plan of the mechanism of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a perspective View of the yarn carrying mechanism of this invention; and

Fig. 5 is a view in perspective of an the mechanism` shown in front elevation in Fig. 1.

The yarn feeding mechanism embodying this invention is to be employed in a knitting machine of the type, for example, known as the links and links machine which includes a needle bed ory beds 'Iv and B, and a carriage (fragmentarily shown) which reciprocates over these beds. The carriage includes a lock or cam mechanism for actuating the needles 9 in the bed or beds in sequence to form stitches in the yarn which is fed to the needles'along with and under control of the carriage. Only a fragment I0 of the carriage appears in the drawing. Inasmuch as knitting machines of this general type are by now well known, the mechanism of the knitting machine has been omitted for the sake `ofv simplicity. The knitting machine usually includes one or Vmore trackway bars I2, one of which appears in the drawing. These trackway bars are supported in any suitable manner so that they lie above the needle beds 'I and 8 of the knitting machine. In the illustrative example, only one trackway bar I2 is shown. However, where a plurality of these bars are employed, they are spaced horizontally and the yarn guides are oiset laterally from their carriers to insure that the yarn is fed to the needles in their active position. The trackway bar I2, as shown in Fig. 2, has two projections I4 and I6 which extend longitudinally of the bar. Referencecharacter I8 designates, in its entirety, one carrier for a yarn guide I9 which serves yarn for knitting the background, for example, of a fabric.

The carrier and guide I8 and I9 are or may be of usual construction having means yshown as an eyelet 20 and an opening 2l for feeding a strand of yarn or the like 22. The carriage I0 has the usual meansv (not shown in detail) for moving the carrier I8. Referring to the dot-dash outline of the fabric show in Fig. 1,' the yarn 22 is knitted into the portion A. This operation is well known to those skilled in the art and need not be further described herein;

The carrier 23 and the yarn guide 21d of this invention cooperates in a novel manner with the carrier and guide I8 and I9 and other elements of the knitting mechanism. The yarn guide 24 serves the yarn 21 to knit the portion B of the element of*y 3 fabric. The carrier 23, like the carrier |8, is provided with a recess 25, the top portion of which is a shape in outline to nt over the dovetailed portion of a trackway bar such as the portion i6. A member 28 is slidably mounted on the body of the carrier 23 and it is provided with a surface which presses upwardly against the bottom of the, projection IG. A at spring 2% secured to the body of the carrier v23 presses the member 28 upwardly so that the carrier 23, while it is slidable on the projection it, is frictionallyv held in position unless it is moved positively by a yarn selecting instrumentality, a part of which, namely, the finger 3|, appears on thedrawing. It will be understood that the vertical position of the iinger 3| is controllable by suitable mechanism associated with the carriage so that it may be raised or lowered to provide for engagement with the carrier 23.

The yarn guide 24 is carried by a mounting Sil which is in the form of an offset arm. Y The degree of offset willbe determined by the placement of the trackway bar laterally with respect to the active position of the needles. This mounting has a spring connection 37 with the guide 24. A similar spring connection 35 is also provided for the carrier l. The guides i9 and 24 are beveled as indicated at 39 to 4| to permit the yarn guides to pass each other during theknitting operations.

The carrier 23, as clearly shown in the drawing, and particularly' Fig, e, is providedv with bosses 43. Plates fili and 46 are secured to these bosses by suitable means such as screws t3. The top 5| of the mounting 34 is confined by and slides under the plates iii and `lll-5. A pin 53 projects from the carrier 22 through a slot 55 in the top 5|. A pin 5S projects from the top 5| and is connected to the pin 53 by an extensible 'spring 58. This arrangement biases the yarnjholder 24. upwardly. The top 5| of the mounting 34 is alsoprovided with a pin 8| on which is journaled a roller G3. A cam member 66 cooperates with the roller 63 in a manner to be described.

The member 28 is provided with pins 68 having enlarged heads 7| which slide in guide slots 12 in the principal part of the carrier 23. As described above, the spring 2e urges the member 2 8 upwardly against the rail projection I6. `This provides means for holding the carrier 23 in position. The carriage (fragmentarily shown) of the knitting machine is shown near the right hand end of its range vof travel. It is assumed that the carriage has completed a to and fro excursion to. knit thepart A but omitting the part B. The yarn 22y is floated over the part B. That is, it is not. knitted at the area B.l 1t is further assumed that thev carriage has also completed an additional to and fro excursion so that yarn 27 is knitted in a row overthe area B. As the yarn carrier I 9 moves to the lett to lay in the yarn, that portion of the yarn 21 lying in the path of the needles at and near the extreme right, as

shown in Fig. l, will also be picked up by the needles causing a confused pattern. This is avoided with the present invention by depressing the yarn carrier 24. Y V

The yarn carrier 23 is picked up by the finger 3|. Fingers 'i5 and H4,` cause release of the carrier 23. As the carrier moves towardthe right, as viewed on the drawing, the nger 3|, or an equivalent member, on the carrier engages the edge 'I8 of the slidable member 23. The member 23 is propelled to the right until the finger 3| engages the upwardly sloping cam surface vt! which is formed on the finger l5. This linger 'l5 is pivoted on the extension 84 oi a block 86 which is clamped to the dovetail It by means of a thumb screw or machine bolt 88. As seen in Fig. l, the nger '5 is urged inwardly toward the bar i2 by means of a flat spring 83. v As stated previously, when'the finger 3| encounters the cam surface 8|, it rides upwardly so that it releases the edge 78. f

When the carriage moves to the left from its extreme right-hand position to knit a course or row of the area B, the pin 3| is lowered* by mechanism (not shown) and engages the edge 9| of the member 23. The pin 3| is released at the left 'hand edge of the area B by the finger H4 having the Vsloping cam end 92. A spring 93 urges the nger I4 inwardly.

The extension B4 has the cam member 6B secured thereon. This cam member has a cam edge 94 which engages the roller 63. This lowers the yarn guide 24 when the member 23 is in or near the position shown.

The operation of the device described above is as follows:

The yarn carrier I9 has been moved to the left and then right by the carriage to orm one round of background leaving a float at the design portion B. Yarn carrier 24 was then picked up and moved to the left and is shown finishing the movement to the right. Although the carriage must always move the full distance of the machine the yarn carrier 24 is only moved for that portion necessary to lay in the design.

` The'next movement of the carriage will move carrier i9 left then right. This is when the yarn 21 will be caught in the needles at the right if the yarn carrier 24 was not depressed. The cam B is adapted to engage the cam roller 63 mounted on the slidable yarn carrier part 34. The spring 58 serves to return the carrier toits normal position above the needles. The slot shown at 55 limits the movement of the carrier 23.

It'will be Vnoted that the carrier 23 is in that portion or end of the'needle bed which is blank.

Having now described the invention, what is claimed is:v

1. In a knitting machine, a yarn feeding mechanism comprising a yarn guide, a stationary track for said yarn guide, means slidable on said track for supporting said yarn guide, said yarn guide` being movable vertically from an active to anA inactive position on said slidable means, and cam means supported on said stationary track for moving said guide vertically between the active and the inactive positions.V

2. In a knitting machine, a yarn feeding mechanism comprising a yarn guide, a. stationary track for said yarn guide, a carrier slidable on said track for supporting said yarn guide, said yarn guide being movable vertically from an active to an inactive positionA on said slidable means, and a stationary cam membervon said track for moving said guide vertically between the active and the inactive positions.

3. In aknitting machine of the type-having a needle bed and a series ofneedlesY along said -bed with means comprising a; carriage andV lock mechanism to operate-said needles; a yarn guide, means to feed yarn to said guide, a carrier for said guide, a trackway for said carrier, said can rer being mounted to execute a to and fro eX- cursion on said trackway, a4 second carrier on said trackway, means on said carriage for imparting movement to said second carrier, ajcam member secured to said trackway to vcause movement of said second carrier to cease adjacent to an end of saidseries of needles, a second yarn guide structure mounted for vertical movement on said second carrier, means to bias said second yarn guide to the level of said rst yarn guide, a projection on said second yyarn guide structure, and a member having a camming portion to move said second yarn guide structure downwardly upon engagement therewith, said member having said camming portion being mounted on said cam member secured to said trackway.

4. In a knitting machine of the type having a needle bed and a series of needles along said bed with Ymeans comprising a carraige and lock mechanism to operate said needles; a trackway, f

cam member secured to said trackway to cause movement of said carrier to cease adjacent to an end of said series of needles, a yarn guide structure mounted for vertical movement on said carrier, means to bias said yarn guide upwardly, a

projection on said yarn guide structure, and a member having a camming portion to move said yarn guide vstructure downwardly upon engagement therewith.

' MICHAEL ZIMIC.

ANTON v MISKOVSKY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

